Olmec

Monument 1, one of the four Olmec colossal heads at La Venta. This one is nearly 3 metres (9 ft) tall.

Head #4

The Olmec were a people who lived about 3000 years ago in what is today south-central Mexico. The Olmec were the first civilization in the ancient area known as Mesoamerica. Because they were the first civilization, many later Mesoamerican civilizations used and repeated Olmec features and characteristics. The Olmec people discovered and made use of many natural resources in the area, including rubber and corn. Dozens of mysterious stone heads were discovered in the Olmec territory as well; archaeologists are still not sure what their purposes were.

The Olmec colossal heads are the most recognized symbol of the Olmec civilization. The height and weights of the heads vary, but the largest head is about twice the height of an average human male. They include seventeen heads found in the southern Mexican cities of La Venta, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Tres Zapotes, and Rancho la Cobata. Each head shows a unique facial expression and wears a helmet bearing distinctive decorations. No two are alike. The origins and meaning of the heads remain mysterious, and they are the subject of much speculation among scholars and archaeologists.

Scholars have tried to explain, for instance, how the Olmecs might have made and moved such big objects. The heads were sculpted out of a hard, dense rock called basalt. Archaeologists theorize that the Olmecs found the majority of the basalt in the Tuxtlas Mountain range. According to this theory, the basalt heads were sculpted roughly in the mountains and then either floated or dragged by thousands of people from the construction site to the Olmecs’ central cities.

Perhaps the most notable features of the sculptures–and a clue as to their meaning–are the helmets worn by all the Olmec heads. These helmets, together with rubber balls found near the sculptures, may be evidence that the Mesoamerican ball game originated with the Olmec civilization. The Mesoamerican ball game was a team sport with profound religious and cultural significance for the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America. The Olmec heads were once thought to have represented Mesoamerican ball players who were sacrificed after losing a match. The current theory, however, is that the heads honor Olmec rulers. It is unknown whether these rulers are meant to be dressed as ball players.